Long Travel BS Thread

What are you guys doing for tailgates? My OEM one is fucked

 

What tailgate?

 

Sitting in my shed with a small dent in it lol

 

turning mine into a bench

 

when you made the swap to ADD hubs, did you have to buy any spacers? I had a shop press the new bearings in. when I install the CV's and put any torque on the axle nut the axle wont spin at all.. I think im missing something.

 

I have 3 DJI Osmo 4 they are ok, but prone to heat issues, in the des I have had issues with them in the housing and hot days, even under the truck. Other than that I have had 0 issues with them, even knocking one off from a tree branch at speed and it never skipping a beat.
https://www.dji.com/osmo-action-4?site=brandsite&from=landing_page

 

Tire gate.

 

hmm no I didn't do anything special other than swap my spindles.
Maybe they botched the press job

 

Anyone have JD fab frame brace and shock towers for SOA setups? How do you like it, I am just starting to look into shock relocation (I am not pushing the truck as much as you guys) looking for a plushier ride out back with weight. Over stock, I have basically 400lbs over stock for constant weight in the bed (a camper and a full aluminum Bowen Custom bed coming soon)

Seems like JD does the most with their kit not only reinforce the frame weak area, but also relocation. Staying stock width up front, Kibbetech UCA, OEM King, DRT fabricated spindle, I do want to do a lower pivot up front as well. What are your guys' thoughts on the relocation from JD, any other better options I am missing?

What are the wheel offset options? What's the minimum back spacing for that kit with a tall skinny 33?

Truck won't be pushed much, 60% time it's on the pavement, but I do want a bit extra upper limit when on dirt while staying stock width.

 

Based on their philosophy of why going spring under is a benefit I am actually kind of surprised they offer a SOA setup. But if people are asking for it, it may be a slight improvement over stock. I will be going SUA with a 4" wider Dynatrac ProRock 60 hopefully this fall. If you do all of their SOA parts you are not saving much from the SUA setup. Front will also be changed from their stock length setup to 2.25 over. The Lower Control Arm pivots I feel is mandatory before anything else up front. It is the foundation.

 

I see, they push SUA and it does make sense for more open desert style driving, honestly, I am never pushing this tacoma like that. Just want to have a bit more head room. Is the shock tower and frame brace the same as a SUA setup? SUA kit just needs the hanger out back and leaf springs? I do carry a lot of weight over stock (400lbs minimum over stock), not sure SUA or SOA will handle the weight better.

I do want to get the shock relocation done for now before fitting the bowen bed later, so they can make room for it. So I am a bit rushed into this, but want to get it done right at first and forget about it.

 

Done right first = linked
2nd best option = SUA

Cannot recommend enough how much sua has improved the driving experience of my truck on and off road.

I made a really good soa setup that only incremently got better with shock tuning. SUA was a whole planet away out of the box.

 

A nicely done SOA will straight up party. I would look at either the DRT or Archive garage stuff. These guys have put the most into developing SOA’s that work very well.

Yes, SUA is better in terms of going fast. But quickly takes a back seat when it comes to substantial weight.

 

Last week for a friend, I tossed on some archive hangers and shackles with their additional cross brace. i forget what SOA leaf pack he's running, but there was an immediately noticeable handling improvement solely from the added frame and hanger rigidity. turns felt better and overall control was improved. i was impressed with how drastic a simple bolt-on upgrade could be

 

Can't answer everything you need to know, but maybe offer a little insight.

I kept my truck SOA, and I'm running the DRT shock relo. Ride is better, and I have good weight too like you (Decked system + 150lbs tools, gear, rack/tent on trips). That being said, I think when I did a leaf spring upgrade (I did Archive HD springs) and hangers (DRT w/ crosstube) it made a bigger difference in my ride and the weight control than the shock relo. For me, SOA made more sense for cost, use case, weight management, ground clearance,and simplicity.

However, the relo definitely parties, even with just my 12" shock, it flexes well, and keeps ground clearance good. I'm sure the JD shock towers would do the same. But for me at least, it didn't change weight handling/ride as much as redoing the weight-bearing parts like hangers/leafs, while the relo/12" was more for a marginal performance boost. All that said, links are the best without any close second in my opinion, having driven a linked truck recently. If you're dropping $$ already, link it.

For the front end, I don't have the JD pivot, but I did consider it for a while. It's badass for sure, but its also, to my knowledge, a VERY involved install with a lot of complicated fab and work. It certainly will help fitment, and beef shit up, but I came to the conclusion it's simply not worth it. For a lot cheaper and simpler, a good high-caster LCA (like BTF) and something like the Marlin Crawler LCA frame brace kit (which I have and love) I think is good enough for me, and not to assume, but likely you too. I'm also stock width up front (for now) so similar builds for us both. That's my two cents, hope its helpful, but certainly doesn't mean its the end-all be-all. Just seems we have somewhat similar trucks/setup goals.

Side note- that Bowen bed is sick, wish i had the $$ for one. Maybe one day. Congrats on it.